Noah Halpin’s fish pole bent down toward the water and the bobber disappeared beneath the surface.

The 13-year old boy had been patiently waiting in his wheelchair, but now he was excited – he’d finally caught a fish. He smiled as volunteer Chet Hayes reeled in the line and swung the fish closer to him.

His mother, Mary Pat, guided his hand so he could touch the fish with his index finger, then they both broke out laughing.

This wasn’t just any fishing outing for the family from Burlington. Noah was competing in the 37th annual Special Olympics Fishing Derby.

On May 10 about 40 participants crowded around the banks of Boone Lake in Walton.

This year’s event was sponsored by the Fifth District Federation of Kentucky Sportsmen.

“We’ve been coming here for about three or four years,” Mary Pat Halpin said. “The volunteers are awesome. They put on the worms and take off the fish. We hold the pole!”

About 50 volunteers were on hand to help.

There were many prizes to be won, including those for biggest fish, the most caught, and most unusual.

“Everybody gets something,” said volunteer Ledford Cole of Independence. Cole has been with the derby from the beginning.

There are no age limits in Special Olympics, organizer Cindy Goetz explained. “So we have kids and adults, from the ages of 4 to 47.”

Angie Reed of Edgewood and her family have come to the event for the past five years. “It’s a great opportunity for her,” she said as she watched her 13-year-old daughter Caitlin. “She loves meeting people.”